Most suspender fasteners comprise a pair of jaws and at least one lever. The lever is for bringing the jaws together or for spreading the jaws apart. The jaws are for securing a garment therebetween.
The distance between the jaws of most suspender fasteners is a dimension which generally cannot be progressively varied. For example, suspender fasteners generally present a first dimension between the jaws for inserting the garment therebetween, and a second dimension, relatively less than the first, for securing the garment therebetween. Occasionally the second dimension is inadequate for securing the suspender fastener to the garment, and if the jaws are deformable (which is the case in most metal suspender fasteners), the jaws can be deformed so as to reduce the second dimension so that the suspender fastener cannot function as intended.
Suspender fasteners are often made of a corrodible metal. Metal suspender fasteners often incorporate several small parts which can render the suspender fastener difficult to operate.
Attempts to deform a jaw to alter the above-discussed dimensions occasionally causes damage to the suspender fastener or otherwise render such a fastener unable to function as intended. More often, however, such a reduction of the second-mentioned dimension also reduces the first-mentioned dimension, whereupon the jaws, after being thus deformed, do not open wide enough for inserting the garment therebetween.